Will Netanyahu be Arrested?
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Today, the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump's controversial pick for Attorney General withdraws, and Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro is indicted for an alleged coup attempt. From TLDR News, this is your daily briefing for Friday, the 22nd of November, 2024.

In a major development, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammad Daev. The warrants come six months after they were requested by the ICC's chief prosecutor back in May, with the decision to issue them finally being made by the court's pretrial chamber.

In a statement, the ICC said it rejected Israel's challenge to the court's jurisdiction and said that it found reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant are responsible for committing the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts in relations to Israel's war in Gaza.

It also found reasonable grounds to believe that each bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population. It means Netanyahu joins a very small club of world leaders who have been subject to an ICC warrant, including Muammar Gaddafi and Vladimir Putin, but Netanyahu is the first Western allied leader to face one.

Separately, in its statement on Hamas's Mohammed Deef, the ICC said it found reasonable grounds to believe that Deef was responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, torture and rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture, taking hostages, outrages upon personal dignity and rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The ICC's chief prosecutor had requested arrest warrants for two other Hamas leaders, Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwa, but these were withdrawn following confirmation of their deaths. Israel says it has also killed Mohamed Diif, however the court was not able to confirm this. So what now? Well, the ICC itself does not have an enforcement mechanism. It is the obligation of all members of the court to carry out arrests of wanted individuals if they set foot on their territory.

That means Netanyahu and co should be arrested if they travel to basically all of Europe, South America, much of Central America, and Africa and Oceania. While this does seriously complicate the travel plans of the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister, the prospect of them being arrested anytime soon seems slim, as Israel and Israel's staunchest ally, the United States, are not members of the court.

In fact, Netanyahu himself claimed that the ICC's decision to issue warrants was anti-Semitic and the act of a biased and discriminatory political body, while a statement from U.S. President Joe Biden called the decision outrageous.

Meanwhile, Hamas, without mentioning Deef's warrant, said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant constitute an important historical precedent and a correction to a long path of historical injustice against our people. So far, at least two EU countries, Italy and the Netherlands, have said openly that they would arrest any of the men on their territory, while several other European countries promised to comply with the ICC's rules without specifying this.

And the EU's foreign policy chief, Joseph Boré, reiterated that the ICC decision was binding on all EU member states. There's more on the way, but remember to subscribe and ring the bell for more Daily Briefing tomorrow. Plus, if you want to support the channel like Preripatthai Supong, then consider joining the TRDR daily membership programme for just £1.99. Recent developments have surfaced regarding President-elect Donald Trump's elections for key positions in his administration, including the role of Attorney General.

Trump has nominated Pam Bondi, a seasoned prosecutor with a background in law enforcement who previously served as Florida's Attorney General and is known as a longtime Trump loyalist. This announcement follows the news that former Florida Congressman and staunch Trump supporter Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his candidacy for the Attorney General position. Gaetz's potential appointment had been one of the most controversial and politically divisive among the incoming president's cabinet choices.

Recently re-elected for his fifth term in the House of Representatives, Gates has a complicated history having once been investigated by the very Department of Justice he aspired to lead in a case involving allegations of sexual misconduct with an underage girl. Additionally, the Washington Post reported earlier this week that the House Ethics Committee had obtained records indicating that Gates had engaged in financial transactions for sex.

with documents slated for release just two days after he announced his decision to step down from consideration.

In other news, federal police in Brazil have accused the country's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, of plotting a coup to overturn the results of the 2022 election and recommended criminal charges against the far-right former president and dozens of ex-ministers and aides. Police say that the conspirators divided their efforts between spreading disinformation about the election, inciting the armed forces to join a coup, and operational support for coup-mongering actions, along with legal support and intelligence.

Among the accused are Bolsonaro, two of his former defence ministers, his former national security adviser and former justice minister.

This final police report, which will go to the Prosecutor General for a decision on pressing charges, caps off a nearly two-year-long investigation into efforts by Bolsonaro and his supporters to overturn the 2022 victory of left-winger Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, which culminated on January 8th, 2023, with Bolsonaro supporters storming government buildings in the capital and calling on the military to overthrow the newly inaugurated President Lula.

Earlier this week, five military and police officers were arrested on suspicion of planning to assassinate Lula weeks before he took office. The new indictment adds significant pressure on Bolsonaro, who had been buoyed by Donald Trump's recent election win in the US. Bolsonaro is the subject of several legal cases and has already been banned from running for office for eight years for undermining public trust and integrity of Brazil's electoral system.

Turning our attention to Europe, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is seeking re-election in an upcoming snap election. This comes after his highly regarded defence minister Boris Pistorius, widely speculated to be a potential successor, announced yesterday that he would not be running. In a video message released by his party, the Social Democratic Party or SPD, Pistorius expressed concern that the ongoing public debate was undermining the party's unity. He

He stated Olaf Scholz is a strong chancellor and he is the right candidate for chancellor, emphasising that party leadership should embody reason and prudence. While Pistorius enjoys widespread popularity as one of the country's most favoured politicians, Scholz's approval ratings are notably low. Many SPD voters hold him accountable for the prolonged discord that paralysed his coalition government, leading to its collapse earlier this month.

In light of this turmoil, there has been increasing pressure within the SPD to consider a last-minute candidate change to avoid a devastating electoral defeat. But despite these challenges, Scholz's entourage and supporters within the party remain optimistic, believing that his reputation as a steady leader during turbulent times may still resonate with voters.

Finally, in some uplifting news, beginning in autumn 2025, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or better known as MIT, will not be charging students tuition if they come from families who earn under $200,000 a year. Additionally, students from families making under $100,000 will not have to pay housing, dining, or other fees, and they'll have an allowance for books and other personal expenses.

The university said it wants to focus on making its education affordable to all students.

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